The Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden, in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States, encompasses the Mount Holyoke College campus, an arboretum, numerous gardens, and the Talcott Greenhouse. It was first designated a botanical garden in 1878, with guidance from Lydia Shattuck, professor of botany. The construction of the Talcott Greenhouse complex, which houses the Botanic Garden's collection of non-hardy plants, began in 1896, after the original greenhouse was destroyed by fire, and was completed in 1899.^[1]

The Botanic Garden serves as an outdoor teaching laboratory as well as a place to arrange and display plants on campus.^[2] The Talcott Greenhouse maintains a permanent collection in addition to space for research and teaching purposes.

Principal gardens

• Class of 1904 Garden - herbaceous perennials^[3]
• Drue Matthews Garden - alpine and rock garden plants^[4]
• Virginia "Timmy" Craig '31 Rhododendron Garden - rhododendrons and other woodland plants native to Eastern North America and Eastern Asia^[5]
• Bullard Garden (Chapel Garden) - trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials
• Ciruti Center Courtyard - Shade-loving plants such as Ilex (hollies), Hosta, Helleborus and Hydrangea
• Willits-Hallowell Center Courtyard
• Heckel Staircase Garden - perennials and dwarf evergreens^[6]

Traditions

The Greenhouse sustains a college tradition by providing students with plants during their first year, which many try to keep alive until they graduate.^[7][8]

Since 1971, Mount Holyoke has hosted an annual Flower Show each spring.^[9][10]